Exiled president could jeopardize Liberia's peace efforts - Sierra Leone court

A fragile peace in West Africa remains in jeopardy so long as exiled former President Charles Taylor of Liberia, indicted for war crimes, is at liberty in Nigeria and continues to intervene in Liberian politics, the prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone said today.

Prosecutor David Crane said Mr. Taylor had threatened to return to Liberia, a return that would be accompanied by regional violence.

"Taylor simply will not stop until he is turned over to the Special Court in Sierra Leone, where he faces 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity," he said.

"A fragile peace continues to take root throughout the region: Sierra Leone's war ended nearly two years ago and this week Liberia took another step toward ending the terrible violence there. As the people of Sierra Leone and West Africa turn from surviving brutality to focus on a brighter future, the man most responsible for their suffering threatens to plunge the region into fear," Mr. Crane said.

Last week, the UN Security Council issued a statement expressing "concern that former President Charles Taylor is still attempting to influence events in Liberia and noted that any interference from Mr. Taylor could threaten the carefully constructed peace agreement in that country."

The Council President for October, Ambassador John Negroponte of the United States, told reporters then that "one of the concerns that was expressed…is the fact that he is in communication with some of his supporters in Liberia."